Weekly News Roundup: It Is Wilderness Week and More!

This week marks Wilderness Week! Scheduled shortly after the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the week encourages nature lovers to head outdoors and enjoy America’s wilderness! With over 750 designated wilderness areas, we are excited to continue the fight for 750 more!

“Mountain lions living in the Santa Monicas need our help,” O’Mara said. “Together, we can reconnect the critical habitat of these majestic, elusive cats, which has been fragmented by freeways and urban development. The broad support at today’s event demonstrates that there is the public will to transform the vision of a wildlife crossing over the 101 into a reality.”

Sportsmen: House should reject bad energy bills

September 18 – A national sportsmen’s coalition expressed frustration Thursday that the U.S. House is recycling harmful legislation that would gut oil and gas leasing reforms on public lands and constrain public input into managing valuable fish and wildlife habitat.

Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development sent a letter to House members urging them to reject H.R. 2, a rehash of bad bills that would undermine measures aimed at balancing energy development and conservation of public lands.

Proposed Revisions to LCRA Water Management Plan

September 17 – On Wednesday, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is expected to vote on proposed amendments to the Water Management Plan (WMP) that will govern how water in Lakes Travis and Buchanan is managed. Among other things, the WMP determines, in large part, how much water will flow in the lower Colorado River and into Matagorda Bay during dry periods. The following is a joint statement on the proposed plan by Myron Hess, Water Programs Manager/Counsel for National Wildlife Federation’s South Central Regional Center, and Jennifer Walker, Water Resources Coordinator for the Sierra Club Lone Star Chapter.

National Wildlife Federation Invites College Students to Compete to Reduce

“We’re trying to inspire people to fund conservation projects,” said Collin O’Mara, the National Wildlife Federation’s president and chief executive. Federal funding will probably be needed to build the crossing, he said, “and we want to show there’s strong public and political support.”

From Enbridge’s perspective, “the challenge is not an engineering challenge, it’s a permit challenge”—one that it has decided to solve through “legal gymnastics,” said Jim Murphy, senior counsel for the National Wildlife Federation.

“The National Wildlife Federation has a Certified Wildlife Habitat program. The Habitat: Hutto event is a first step to interest families and businesses in Hutto to participate in this habitat program. If enough Hutto entities participate, Hutto could become the third community in Texas to achieve this recognition.”